I love veal parmigiana. How about you? So I thought why not make ground veal burgers alla parmigiana and serve them with a parmigiana sauce? The veal mince is already very light, subtle and delicate so it doesn’t need a lot of other strong flavors.
Are you in for a little fun cooking today?
Let’s take a classic Italian dish and just turn it upside down and inside out! But let’s keep this meal simple as well. A veal patties recipe, a rich homemade tomato sauce, cracked black pepper, salt, a little sprinkle of dried herbs.
Do you know what exactly a veal parmigiana is?
I am sure that you have made or at least tasted that Italian classic dish before!
Veal Parmigiana
It is basically an Italian American oven bake that contains veal fillets or cutlets.
You first have to bread and pan fry that veal, then put it on the bottom of a baking dish and top it with a rich homemade tomato sauce.
Followed by a finishing touch: a generous sprinkle of grated cheese on top!
After that, the veal goes into the oven for some time until it is cooked through and the cheese has nicely melted. You can also find this dish under the name of veal parmesan by the way.
Eggplant Parmigiana
There are quite a few vegetarian versions of this dish: the most popular is with eggplant. You might have come across it before: melanzane alla parmigiana or eggplant parmesan.
I have even seen versions with portobello mushrooms instead of eggplant before as well!
Easy Veal Burgers Parmigiana
This time I didn’t use veal cutlets, but I made ground veal burgers. It is a creative twist on the classic recipe.
Veal patties Italian style!
What cheese should you use?
I can hear you say, parmesan of course!
True, but because you have to bake that veal in an oven, parmesan cheese is not the richest of cheeses to melt. You really want to top layer to be gooey and lush.
Mozzarella
Hang on, people usually sprinkle some grated parmesan cheese on top of the fried veal, add a layer of tomato sauce and then finished it off with a slice of mozzarella cheese.
Allow me to let you in on a little secret.
The day before I made spaghetti marinara and I prepared an extra portion of that gorgeous tomato sauce for this veal burgers dinner.
Enjoy!
Easy Parmigiana Veal Burgers Recipe
I love veal parmigiana! So how about making veal burgers alla parmigiana with mozzarella in a homemade tomato sauce? Pepper, salt, dried herbs - keep it simple.
- 10,5 oz ground veal (350 g)
- 1 large fresh tomato
- 2 tbsp onion chopped
- 1 small garlic clove chopped
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 slices mozzarella
- ½ tsp dried herbs
- 1 tsp red wine vinegar
- 1 tsp unsalted butter
- 2 tbsp fresh basil chopped
- 1 egg yolk
- olive oil
- pepper
- salt
-
Pour a little olive oil in a medium saucepan and add the chopped yellow onion and the garlic. Place this over medium heat.
-
Cook the garlic and onion gently for 2 minutes. Deseed the tomatoes and dice the tomato meat finely. Add it to the saucepan. Season with a little pepper and salt.
-
Stir well and reduce the heat. Put a lid on the pan and let the tomato simmer and fall apart for about 5 minutes. The sauce should be a little chunky. Stir well and add the tomato paste, half of the dried thyme and the red wine vinegar.
-
Stir and simmer for 3 more minutes. Check the seasoning and add extra pepper, salt, tomato paste or red wine vinegar to taste if necessary. Stir in the unsalted butter and some freshly chopped basil. Then take the tomato sauce off the heat and let it cool.
-
Add the veal mince to a large mixing bowl together with the egg yolk, the rest of the dried herbs and a little pinch of freshly ground black pepper and salt.
-
Knead the mince for a minute until it is nicely combined. Then divide the mince into 2 equal portions and make patties that are about an inch (2,5 cm) thick. Wrap them in some cling film.
-
Place the patties in the fridge and let them cool for 15 minutes. Remove the pork patties from the fridge and let them rest at room temperature for another 15 minutes. Then some olive oil in a medium non-stick pan and place it over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, add the veal patties.
-
Quickly sear them on one side for 2 minutes. Then flip them over and cook them until golden on the other side as well.
-
Then take the pan off the heat and let the burgers rest in the hot pan for 6 to 8 minutes. Flip them over regularly. Then inside should be warmed through but not cooked through. Keep the burgers rosé, pink on the inside! Transfer the cooked burgers onto plates and top with the tomato sauce and a slice of mozzarella. Grill the burgers for another couple of minutes until the cheese is nicely melted. Serve hot.
